Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores felt the emotional toll of former pupil Tua Tagovailoa’s criticism but vowed to use the harsh assessment to grow as a coach.

Flores was joined by current Minnesota players on Tuesday and responded to the Dolphins’ quarterback telling “The Dan LeBatard Show” that during Flores’ time in Miami, he was a “terrible person telling you things that you don’t want to hear or probably shouldn’t be hearing.”

“Look, I’m human,” Flores said. “So that hit me in a way that wasn’t … positive for me. But at the same time, I’ve got to use that and say, ‘Hey, how can I grow from that? How can I be better?’ And that’s really where I’m at from that standpoint. Do I feel like that’s me? No. But how can I grow from that situation and create a world where that’s not the case that anyone says that about Brian Flores?”

Tagovailoa said in the interview, which aired Monday, that current coach Mike McDaniel shifted the culture to focus on positivity and self-belief through preparation and discipline.

“If you woke up every morning and I told you … you suck at what you did, that you don’t belong doing what you do, that you shouldn’t be here, that this guy should be here, that you haven’t earned this right,” Tagovailoa said, referring to his experience with Flores, “and then you have somebody else come in and tell you, ‘Dude, you are the best fit for this,'” he said in reference to McDaniel. “How would it make you feel listening to one or the other?”

Vikings safety Josh Metellus and defensive tackle Harrison Phillips stood beside Flores to show support on Tuesday.

A former player at Boston College who worked under Bill Belichick with the Patriots and coached the Dolphins from 2019-21, Flores said he still has the same feeling about coaching that he did when he started in the profession 21 years ago.

“I want to make that same kind of impact, positive impact, pour into young people,” Flores said, referencing his youth coaches and others who inspired him to give back to the game.

He hasn’t reached out to Tagovailoa since he was fired in January 2022, but Flores said he has thought about how that conversation might unfold.

“Maybe if that time arises or is available, I’m certainly open to that,” he said. “But I got a lot of other things going on, too, as he does. And again, I’m just really focused on the guys here and the work that we’re putting in here.

“I wish Tua nothing but the best.”

–Field Level Media